Alex Moiseyev
Alex Moiseyev, b. February 19, 1959, is an American checkers player, and is the current (2009) 3-Move World Champion. He holds a master or grandmaster rating in checkers, Russian draughts, and 10x10 draughts, and has been playing competitively since age 7. Alex currently resides in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus, where he is the defending Ohio State Champion. Biographical Timeline Alex was kind enough to supply the following timeline about his life and early experience in checkers & draughts. Part 1: Russian & International Draughts *1959: born in Malahovka, a small suburb about 20 miles from Moscow. *1963: first learns to play Russian Checkers (8x8) from his father, at age four. *1966: starts school in Russia, and joins the Youth Checkers Club at the Moscow Pioneer Palace. *1967-1971: achieves various honors in Russian checkers-- two youth category norms at ages 8 and 9, two adult category norms at ages 10 and 11, and finally a Candidate Master title at age 12. *1966-1970: holds title of Moscow Boys Champion in Russian checkers. *1972: joins the "Lokomotiv" checkers club, remaining a member until 1991 when he left the USSR. *1975: achieves Master Sport norm in Russian checkers. *1971-1976: holds title of Moscow Youth Champion in Russian checkers. *1976: finishes 3rd in the National USSR Youth Championship in Russian checkers, and leaves for Moscow Railroad University, where he majored in Computer Science and minored in Math. *1977: finishes 3rd in Moscow Russian Checkers Championship. *late 1970s: quits Russian checkers and transitions to 10x10 International Draughts. *1979-1991: plays in various International Draughts (10x10) events, including the Quarter Finals of USSR Championship. At the time he left the Soviet Union, he was ranked #17 out of 2000 players. *1982: wins Moscow International Draughts Championship on his first try. Also graduates with a Master's Degree in Computer Science and begins his professional career as a computer programmer, with the All-State Transportation Company. *1982: marries wife Galina, who he met in college. *1983: oldest son Michael born *1987-1991: competes in International Draughts composition contests, finishing 2nd in the 1991 USSR Composition National Championship, Miniatures-100 section. *1989: visits the United States for two weeks on vacation. *1990: repeats victory in the Moscow International Draughts Championship. *1991: immigrates to the United States, first living in New York with his wife and son. *1992: relocates to Pittsburgh, where he and his wife start working as computer programmers. *1992-1998: works with various software development companies as a consultant. *1994-1995: starts playing occasional email games with Dutch players. *1994: buys first house. *1995: second son, Paul, born. *1996: wins USA International Draughts Championship and earns Pan-American Association grandmaster title. Part 2: Anglo-American Checkers *1996: takes up Anglo-American style of checkers, playing in the OH State Checkers tournament in Massillon and the USA National 3-Move Tournament in Danville, VA. *1997: starts playing online on a regular basis. *1997: wins the state championship title in PA, which he would retain until moving to Ohio in 2002. *1998: finishes 2nd in the 3-move USA National Tournament. *1998: is hired by PNC Bank, a Pittsburgh-based company. *1999: daughter Clara born. *1999: wins the USA GAYP National in Niagara Falls, NY, earning the right to challenge World Champion Ron King. *1999: son Michael finishes school and goes to Carnegie Mellon University, majoring in math. *2000: wins first 3-move National in Toledo, OH. *2000: ties GAYP World Championship Match (WCM) with Ron King: 3-3-18 (King retains the title). *2001: wins 3-moves Eliminator match over William Docherty in Morecambe, England (5-4-11), thereby getting the right to challenge Ron King for the 3-move World Championship. *2000-2001: in two years he and his wife lost 3 out of 4 parents, with only his wife's mother surviving. *2001: plays in the International Match (USA vs UK & Ireland) in Morecambe, England, scoring 11-0-9. *2001: 3-move WCM is canceled and Ron King is stripped off his title by the ACF. *2002: plays a 3-move WCM with Elbert Lowder, sanctioned by ACF, and wins 12-0-17. Recognized as World Champion by ACF but not by other National Federations. *2002: ties (6-6-8) 11-man ballot World Championship with Elbert Lowder. *2002: relocates with family to Columbus, OH, where his wife Galina started a new job; bought a new house and sold the one in Pennsylvania. *2002-2009: plays in more than 60 assorted Anglo-American Checkers tournaments and matches: International, National, and State. Of these, finishes in first place all but five times. *2003: as a permanent OH resident wins the OH State Champion title, and retains it until the present day. *2003: plays 3-Move WCM with Ron King in Cookstown, Nothern Ireland, winning 8-2-25. Finally recognized as World Champion by all National Federations and the new World Federation (WCDF) which had been created the same year. *2003: Michael graduates from CMU and starts his master's program at Pitt University. *2004: Michael gets married and moves to Philadelphia. *2004-2009: restarts old hobby of composing Intenational Draughts problems & endings, composing more than 1000 problems and publishing them online. *2005: Michael gets divorced after less than 1 year of marriage * 2005: defends 3-move World Title against Ron King in Anderson, SC, winning 8-3-25. *2006:Michael relocates to New York and starts his Master degree in NYCU, majoring in Public Affairs. *2006: writes book Sixth, of which more than 350 copies have been sold. *2007: Michael gets his first professional job in the New York City Education Budget Department. *2008: finishes 2nd in the FMJD Composition World Championship, miniatures-100 section. Achieves FMJD Master norm (in composition). *2008: wins World Mind Sport Games in Beijing. *2009: wins 3-move WCM vs Ron King. Category:Biographies Category:Checkers Players Category:Champions